


Afterlives

by i_amthecosmos



Series: The Reaperverse [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, kissing and sweet stuff, mystical afterlife stuff, spot Ed Sheeran, technically everyone is dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 08:32:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8526109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: Harry and Louis are happy after they both become Reapers. And soon, somebody notices.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thought of this about a month ago and started trying to put it together. I started wondering about how the Reaper universe worked, and this is what I've come up with. I like my Death, although he's admittedly not as good as Terry Pratchett's.

Harry and Louis were in their room, kissing while lying back on the bed, when Harry heard a ding. Liam had been trying to modernize things instead of going around knocking on doors, so he got a little chime on either a phone or an alarm in his room when he had to go. He pulled back, and made a face at the alarm.

“Be back soon,” he said. Louis rolled over on his back and grabbed a book he’d borrowed from another Reaper. “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone.” It had been six months since Louis had joined him in the Reaping part of the afterlife, and Harry was happier than he had ever been, alive or dead. Louis blew a kiss at Harry, and he caught it, smiling like a loon. 

On his way out he waved at Zayn and Niall. Zayn had Niall pushed against the wall, and Niall’s mouth was red from kisses. Liam was nearby, watching, and flushed when he saw Harry. It was a pretty good day, Harry thought. Things were happy down in their part of eternity. 

Harry went and collected the soul, and headed back home. He was already thinking of what he was going to tell Louis, about the weather Up in Australia. He went back to their shared room, and poked his head in. 

Louis wasn’t there. The book was on the side table, the covers still messed up, but no Louis. Harry frowned-had Louis gotten a call after Harry left? He must have. But something about the empty bed felt off to Harry. 

Harry found Liam, right away. He was at his desk in the middle of the main floor of the Reaper quarters. Zayn and Niall were nowhere to be seen-probably back in their room. “Li, did you send Louis on a Reaping? He’s not in our room.” Liam frowned, shaking his head.

“I didn’t send him. Maybe he’s wandered off, this place can get confusing. Get Niall to help you, he knows a lot of the little corners around here.” Harry thought that might be true-Louis had a lot of energy, even dead. Harry went and found Niall sitting in Zayn’s lap. 

“Hey, Lou’s missing. Liam said you could help me find him.”

“Alright,” Niall said, and he gave Zayn a long kiss. “Be back.” Then he got off Zayn’s lap and went with Harry. “Where do you think he went?” 

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m looking for him. I went on a Reaping and then he was gone. Didn’t take me five minutes.” Harry was already worried, and Niall patted his arm. 

“Let’s just look, he’s probably around somewhere.” Niall was awfully chipper. He had always been, but since he and Zayn started up he was even worse. Niall was humming as well, which didn’t help Harry’s nerves.

But maybe he was right. Niall was probably right.

But then, everywhere they looked, Louis wasn’t there. The Reapers had a big area with lots of dorms, but they managed to look over a lot of it in a couple of hours. When Louis wasn’t found, they went deeper into the dorms, where the Reapers were the oldest and the most miserable. After they exhausted that, Harry came back to Liam.

“He’s not anywhere, we can’t find him,” He said, and Liam’s serious face looked worried. “He wouldn’t just leave like that.” 

“He’s probably lost,” Liam said. “This place is a maze sometimes. Did you go into the older parts?”

“Yeah,” Niall said, leaning on Liam’s desk. “Nothing there but the usual gang of cranky bastards.” 

“Don’t call them that, they’ve worked here a long time,” Liam said weakly. “Look Harry, go back to your room, I’ll call you if I need you for a Reaping. I’m going to get one of the security blokes from Limbo to help us. We don’t have our own security after all.”

“Why not, I wonder,” Niall said. 

Liam looked for the number in his Rolodex. “Nobody ever tries to leave, is why. We have the fewest breakout attempts anywhere in the afterlives. I looked it up. Except for Harry’s little crisis when he met Louis, but he never really tried to go.”

“Wonder why that is, huh Harry?” Niall called out, but Harry was already heading to his room to wait for news on Louis. Something wasn’t right.

…

They looked for Louis all over their spot of eternity, but nobody could find him. Harry sat in his room and waited for Lou to come back, but nothing happened. After a while, Liam stuck his head in Harry’s room, and Harry sat up in bed. “Did you find him?” 

“No. And it’s starting to worry me. I don’t know what’s going on, where could he have gotten to? I’ve still got people looking, but I don’t know…” Liam stopped to rub his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come in when I didn’t have anything.” 

“Where could he have gone?” Harry got out of bed and came over to Liam. “Liam, you’re my friend, has Louis said anything to you? That maybe he wasn’t happy here?” The thought of Louis hiding something like that from him made Harry blink back tears.

“No. No, he’s said nothing. He’s been so happy, same as you. Ever since you two got back together after you Reaped him, he’s been walking around here smiling all the time.” Liam frowned then, as if remembering something. 

“What?” Harry said. “Do you know something?”

“I’m not…sure,” Liam said, his eyes focused somewhere past Harry. “I um, I have to look some things up. You stay here in case Louis comes back.” Liam turned and went back towards his desk. Harry watched him as he went straight to his computer. 

…

Louis didn’t show up the next day, and Harry knew for sure that something was wrong. Liam kept checking first his computer, and then a huge set of giant file cabinets set off in another room. Harry walked around like a zombie, doing his Reapings when asked and stumbling through everything else. Niall and Zayn tried to keep him company, but their hand-holding just made him depressed.

“You two…you got together after I me and Louis, right?” Niall nodded at Harry, who was lying on his bed again. He was too miserable to sit up.

“We’re not the only ones either,” Niall said. “After you and Louis became an item, it set something off, kind of. People realized it was an option. So now a lot of people have paired up. Except for those old sticks in the oldest parts.”

“Don’t say that,” Zayn chided. “Don’t be mean, that’s just how they are.” 

“I know, but it still gets on my nerves.” Harry tuned them out as Zayn and Niall started bickering. He needed his Louis back.

…

It was another long week before Liam showed up at Harry’s room, with dust bunnies on his clothes and a streak of dirt on his forehead. “I found something,” he said, and showed Harry a large parchment. “I had to get one of the older lads to translate the Latin for me. Good thing he was a monk.” 

Harry would have said something about a monk being an atheist, but there were more of them than any other job type in the Reaping business. He sat up as Liam held it out. “There’s a law, an old law. I’d never seen it before. I’d heard rumors about it, thought it was bollocks.”

“What’s the law? Liam, tell me.” Harry was about to either get angry or burst into tears, but then Liam finished his thought. 

“I think the Elders have him.”

“The Elders?” Harry wasn’t sure what that meant. “You mean the older guys in the lower parts?”

“No, lower than that,” Liam said. “The Elders are the leaders of the Reapers. They don’t go get souls themselves, they just set the laws for the rest of us. But they barely have to do anything, we mostly regulate ourselves. They just put me in charge so I could handle the day-to-day stuff. But I’ve never actually met one of them.” 

“Are you sure they even exist?” Harry didn’t know what to think of this. “And why would they have him? I don’t understand, we didn’t do anything.” Liam looked down at the Latin script, and then back up at him, his face serious.

“You did do something. You fell in love. It’s not allowed.” 

“What?” Harry stared at the ancient piece of parchment. “Why?”

“It’s just not. Have you ever wondered why there’s only men here? Women don’t come here, I don’t know why. But they kept us all away from ladies, I guess figuring that would be enough to prevent relationships. But then you and Louis started up, and things changed here.” 

“People started pairing up,” Harry said. “Is that all?”

“Not just that, I don’t think,” Liam said. “You changed the tone. People are happier. We’re not all feeling the drudgery like we were. I can’t be sure, but I know things have been different for me.” Liam pinked up a bit at that. Harry didn’t say anything, but he’d seen Liam with Zayn and Niall. Liam’s dignity wouldn’t let him talk about it much, but he knew. 

“So what do we do? I’m not just taking this. How can I find the Elders?” 

“I’m going to do some more research, I think I know where they are. I don’t want you to go into this unprepared. Let me find a way to help.” Liam looked at the parchment again. “I’m going to get my monk friend to translate another parchment. That one should lead us to them. When we have it, you can go make your case.” 

…

It took another painful few days before Liam came back to see Harry. He just watched TV in his room, wondering how he handled his existence before Louis. It had always been boring, but now it was unbearable. How did he stand it? Now he wished he had died a true death, with no afterlife. 

He had to get Louis back. 

When Liam finally showed up at his door with a shy smile and a map, Harry stood up. “Show me where they are.” 

“Calm down, Niall’s going with you,” Liam said. “It’s a long way, so I thought that you’d need some company.” Niall was looking serious for once, and Harry thought he must be thinking of what he would do if it was Zayn that had disappeared. He went over to him, and Niall hugged him close. It was the first touch he’d welcomed since Louis disappeared. 

“Thank you,” Harry said, his voice hoarse-sounding. When he pulled away, he looked at Liam. “Thank you too. You’ve been so helpful. Do you think this is it?” 

“I’m almost sure. If it isn’t, we’ll try again. I want you to be happy, Harry. But for now, let’s try this.” He handed Harry the map. Harry stared at it. It was meandering, but not all that hard to read.

“Well. Here goes nothing,” Niall said. Harry looked it over for another minute, then left with Niall. A lot of people were milling around, and they moved aside as Niall and Harry made their way to the older parts of the Reaping place. They walked through there, and at the very end, nearly obscured by the dark, there was a stairway leading down.

The journey took a long time. Harry wasn’t sure about time-time didn’t mean a great deal where they were-but he was glad he had no need for rest and food. He was also glad for Niall, who helped him figure out the ancient map, and kept his spirits up as they searched. 

“So how do you keep up with all of these Spider Man comics anyway?” Harry said as they kept going down a seemingly endless dark hallway. There were symbols that Harry didn’t understand painted on the walls. They didn’t appear to be doorways, so he let them be.

“Follow it on me iPhone, like everyone else,” Niall said. Harry sighed. That figured. Niall was younger than him, and smart enough to hack his way into having a functional phone without Liam’s help. “Hey, do you see something up ahead?” 

Harry looked. There was a glow coming up ahead, dim but there, and it seemed to pulse. “Is this where the door is?” Harry said. Niall looked at the map.

“I think so. You ready?” Niall sounded a bit frightened, but Harry wasn’t. He was already dead, they couldn’t do that much to him. He just kept going, and Niall stayed by his side as they went towards the pulsing light. 

When they got there, Harry held his hand in front of it. There was a low heat, just enough warmth to be felt but not to burn. “I wonder how it opens,” Harry said, and Niall looked around the edges, for a lock or a spell, or something. Harry tried to touch it, and pulled his hand back. “Gets hotter if you mess with it.”

“I reckon,” Niall said, still checking. “Is there anything on that map, a incantation, or a puzzle?” Just then the light went out, and there was a dark-haired man with a beard standing in front of them. 

“Generally, you just have to ask,” He said, in a good natured voice. He didn’t smile at them however, just looking between them. “Harry Styles, I assume. Who’s your friend?” 

“Niall Horan,” Niall said, voice flat. The man looked amused. “Are you one of the Elders? What do we call you?”

“My name is Ben Winston, you can call me Ben, it’s all right. You’ve come for Louis, haven’t you?” He seemed faintly amused, and Harry tried not to let the fear and panic show in his face or voice. He only had one chance to get his Louis back.

“Do you have him?” He said, trying not to let his voice shake. Ben stood aside, and Harry took that as an invitation to come in. He did, with Niall following him. They were in pitch blackness at first, until the room opened up and they were in what looked like a Gothic cathedral. There were several people sat around a large ornate wooden table. Everyone was in dark suits. Harry saw two men at the far end of the table, playing cards. There was a half-eaten feast on the table, including a turkey that had seemingly been left for a while. Ben walked towards them, hands in front of his body.

“I suppose I could answer that, but I want to talk to you first,” Ben said. “You’ve caused us an awful lot of trouble, bringing that lover into our world.” 

“How have I caused you trouble?” Harry said. “What did we do? We fell in love, that’s all.” 

“There’s no ‘that’s all’ to it,” a voice said from one of the two men playing cards. “Do you even know what the Reaping is supposed to be? No, I suppose you don’t. That Liam is a nice boy, does what he’s told, but he’s thick as two short planks.” 

“No, I don’t know. Tell us,” Niall said, Harry looked over at him. Niall was angry, furious that this person had insulted Liam. Well then. Harry knew that Liam was involved somehow, but now how much it may have meant to Zayn and Niall. Things really had changed.

“It’s meant to be a punishment,” Ben said smoothly. “Reapers are supposed to take souls to their afterlives eternally so they’ll atone for not believing. It’s the way of things, it’s been like this for at least a thousand years, maybe more. That’s as far back as we go, at least.”

“All of you that old, then?” Harry spit at him. 

“No, not all of us,” said a voice as another man in a dark suit entered the room. Harry froze as he heard the voice. It had been decades since he heard that. As the man came closer, Harry took a tentative step forward. “Hello Harry.”

“Nick,” Harry said, standing there in shock as his old lover revealed himself from the shadows. “What…how?”

Nick smiled, looking pleased with himself. “It’s nice to see you again to.” He came closer and reached out for Harry’s hands. “I died a couple of years after you. When I was sent here, instead of making me a Reaper they asked me to join the Elders. They need a new person every now and then.”

“Yeah, why?” That was Niall, speaking up from behind Harry. “It’s not like anyone dies off.” 

“Technically true,” Ben said then as he took a seat at the table. “But sometimes, people are called to another plane. It happens about once every two hundred years. We had an opening and Nick seemed like our type.” 

“Well then, I’m glad for you,” Harry said, looking straight into Nick’s eyes. He’d always had beautiful eyes, one of his best features. “But Nick, do you know where my Louis is?” 

Nick’s grin dropped off his face for a second, and Harry thought he looked angry. Then his pleased mask was back, and he leaned in. “Let’s you and me have a little walk,” he said. “Leave your friend with the other Elders, they could use a new hand at poker.” Nick dropped Harry’s hands and walked away. Harry looked back at Niall, who nodded. 

“I’ll be back soon,” Harry said, and then he followed Nick. He didn’t think he had any other choice. 

…

They walked down another endless hallway, until they turned left and Harry saw a little room on the side, not bigger than the ones they had in the Reaper’s quarters. It was nicely set up though, with a small table and two chairs and a little bed. “Sit down Harry,” 

“I don’t want to catch up,” Harry said. “I want Louis back. I don’t care what the rule is. I don’t think we needed to be punished forever for not believing. Although, it doesn’t look like you’re considering it a punishment.” 

“I don’t mind my existence,” Nick allowed, smiling slightly. “Louis has been hidden from you. He’s locked away, but he’s not harmed. You’re going to have to learn to do without him. You’ve let loose something you didn’t expect, with that.”

“I know. There’s other couples now. I’m glad, nobody is as miserable as they used to be, even those who aren’t doing it. Why is it so important that we be unhappy?” 

“It’s just how these worlds are made,” Nick said as he poured out something that looked like red wine. “Too much happiness in a realm not made for it tilts the others off balance. And for a long time, the Reapers followed the rules so much we neglected to tell them how important they were. You changed all that.” 

“I’m glad I did,” Harry said. “I don’t want things to go back the way they were.” Nick poured him a small glass of the wine, and Harry took it. “I remember you trying to push wine on me when we were alive, Grimshaw,” Harry said. “You always had more of a taste for it than I did.” He took a sip, it was faintly sweet.

“I’m glad you remember something about me,” Nick said. Harry took another sip, and then felt his throat close up.

As the wine glass hit the floor, Harry was just aware of Nick touching him, picking him up. “I’m so glad to see you again, Harry. I won’t let you be uncomfortable, I promise.” 

…

Niall didn’t know why Harry just took off with that weird-looking bastard, but he wished he was back. Now he was stuck playing cards with Ben and the other guys who didn’t introduce themselves. “I don’t understand, how this works,” he said as he put down two pair. “This has been the law for centuries and nobody hardly ever broke it? Why? And why aren’t there any women here, do they have their own Reaping place?”

“Nobody broke it because all the atheists were so surprised to find out there was an afterlife, they tended to just accept it. They went from a lifetime of doubt and trying to find the answers to letting us take care of them,” Ben said. “And no, of course there aren’t female Reapers.” Ben looked amused at the idea.

“Wait. I know there are women atheists, I used to get pints with a few,” Niall said. He felt a cold shiver down his spine. “What happens to them?”

“They go to Limbo,” Ben said, with a dismissive wave. “They stay there with the unbaptized babies, so they have plenty to do. I don’t see why you’re so worried about it.” 

Niall stared at Ben. “Yeah. I’m sure my old friend Maeve would be thrilled taking care of someone else’s babies for eternity. This system is fucked up, I’m saying.” 

“You don’t get a say in it,” Ben said, smug. “And neither do we, really. It’s just how it is. It’s been this way for centuries. I think maybe some women are in different versions of limbo in other religions, but they aren’t Reapers. You’re getting distracted, Niall. We have another few rounds to play.”

“I think I’m done playing cards with the likes of you,” Niall put his hand down and stood up, turning toward the door. But before he could even take a step, the door shut on its own. “Hey!” He ran to it, but there was no handle and it nearly burned him when he touched it. “What?!”

Ben stood up, chuckling. “I said, sit with us,” he said. “We have a lot of rounds to play.”

…

Liam was worried from the moment that Harry and Niall left his sight. He wouldn’t deny that. But as the days went by, the worry increased. Liam kept looking over the copy of the map that he’d made, wondering what was taking them so long. 

“Any word today?” That was Zayn. He looked terrible with dark circles under his eyes. Liam shook his head. Zayn was missing his Niall a great deal. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happened. They should be there by now.” 

“Maybe they are, and the Elders aren’t letting them go? Do you think they took Louis? I’d think anything about those bastards.” 

“I don’t know, they don’t exactly have e-mail. I keep thinking they’ll send a message somehow but they haven’t.” Liam went through some of his file cabinets. “I don’t understand.” 

“Maybe something’s happened, and they’ve got Harry and Niall too.” Liam wanted to say that they couldn’t be sure, but Zayn looked determined. “Are they just going to make off with any of us if we don’t behave?” 

“I don’t know!” Liam threw a file on the floor. Zayn came closer, and Liam let Zayn put an arm around. “I don’t know what’s going on, I was only trying to help.” Zayn walked Liam over to the nearest chair. 

“Nobody blames you,” Zayn said. “You’re trying to take care of us all. We know that. And we love you. Those bastards can go hang, but you’re ours.” Liam leaned forward as Zayn rubbed his neck. “Come to my room. Have George watch the desk.” George was one of the newest Reapers, and he had very good office skills.

“Okay. Just for a while.” Liam found George, and soon he was in Zayn’s room, cuddled together watching the news. “I just don’t know what to do. I don’t think I can make this decision myself.”

“Then don’t,” Zayn said, and Liam closed his eyes when Zayn scratched over his hair. “Let’s get everyone together and talk about it. Far as I’m concerned, when they took our people, they declared war, and we should act like it.” 

“Sounds good. We’ll have a meeting.” Liam felt himself drift. While generally Reapers didn’t feel physical tiredness, he’d had a long week. He stayed half-asleep while Zayn kept playing with his hair. He was right, Liam mused. It was time to fight back.

…

When Harry woke up, he found himself in a small room with a door with iron bars over it. He got up, groggy, and tried to find a way out. He couldn’t find anything and wound sliding to the floor. When Nick came back, he just glared at him.

“I’m sorry Harry, but it’s for everyone’s good that you and Louis stay apart. I could tell I would have to do something drastic, so I did. Trust me, I wouldn’t waste something that potent if I didn’t think I really needed to. Do you know how hard it is to knock out someone who’s dead?” 

“You son of a bitch,” Harry said when he could form words. Nick just shrugged. “But I suppose I’m not surprised. I remember when we were together, if I showed you any affection you chided me. You said that homosexuals couldn’t feel love. I remember that.” 

“I did,” Nick said. “But that’s not important now. The time for love is when you’ve living, Harry. Bringing human love into the afterlife just mucks everything up.” Nick stared at him. “Get comfortable,” he said. “You’ve going to be in this room a while.” Then Nick turned and walked away.

Harry thought about screaming, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead he just sobbed, curled up on the floor.

…

Getting all of the Reapers together to have a meeting took longer than even Liam expected. But by now it had been at least three Earth weeks since Louis disappeared and two since Harry and Niall left. Liam wound up gathering as many Reapers as he could, and let people come up with solutions. Most of the solutions got either shouted down or dismissed as unworkable. When they had souls to reap, Liam would send a few of them and then wait. It was a difficult meeting.

Finally, Liam stood on his desk. “Well gentleman,” he said. “We’ve considered every possible course of action, and there only seems to be one that would get their attention. It goes against everything I’ve tried to do here, but I have to say it. Who wants to vote for a strike?”

Zayn had his hand up first. George was second. Slowly, throughout the group, hands went up. A group of grouchy ex-monk Reapers from the older part raised their hands while cursing the Elders in Italian. Hands went up everywhere. 

Liam watched, feeling the unease build up in him. This was a bold move. Not collecting the souls soon after death meant that the souls would wander free, and there was no foolproof way to collect them after the fact. They were basically condemning the world to a huge influx of ghosts. But there was no other way. 

“Okay then, when the Reapers out now get back, we start our strike.” Cheers went up, and Liam took a deep breath. This was going to get ugly. 

…

Niall wasn’t sure how long he’d been trapped with the Elders and forced into poker games, but he’d had just about enough of it. They wouldn’t let him out of the room and every time he tried screaming, cursing or throwing chairs, they just shook their heads and dealt him another hand. 

Niall finally just sat there and played poker in the grumpiest manner possible. He thought about trying to play for Louis and Harry’s release, but he knew he wasn’t that good. Somehow, Ben always seemed to win. “It’s bad form to cheat at poker in the afterlife, you bastard,” he snapped.

Ben shrugged. “I’m not. I’ve just been doing this a long time. At least you’re a new player, I don’t know exactly what you’re going to do next.” 

“Neither do I,” Niall said. “I’m just winging it. So you’re sick of being down here with these other lads then?” One of the Elders called Niall a name in a language he didn’t know. He just raised an eyebrow at the guy, who glared but said nothing else. 

“We have a good time,” Ben said, but Niall could see the boredom etched in his face. “You’re a young Reaper, we don’t really feel things as strongly after a while.”

“I don’t believe that,” Niall said. “We were all human, and we still act and feel like humans. I’m amazed you’re not all mad, to be honest.” Another one of the Elders looked at him curiously, as if that had never occurred to him. 

“I see why you think that,” Ben said. “Most of us are older than you, however. We didn’t come from a time where everyone was glued to their internet phones.” He said that with a self-righteous smirk, and Niall almost burst out laughing.

“You sound like my granny, so I suppose that’s true.” As the ancient one who spoke Medieval French started to cut the cards again, another Elder came in from a side door Niall didn’t know was there. The Elder leaned over to whisper something in Ben’s ear. Niall couldn’t hear a word, but he watched as Ben’s eyes widened. 

“Really. Well.” Ben stammered, and Niall couldn’t help it, he grinned at watching Ben facing something where he didn’t know the answer. “Give us some time,” Ben said. “We’ll figure out the proper response.” The messenger left, and Ben put down his cards and walked over to where Niall was.

“Your colleagues have come up with a way to support you and Harry,” Ben said. “Those annoying buggers have organized a strike.” Ben looked at the others, and they stood up. “Excuse us Niall, but we have to come up with a counter-measure.” They all moved as one to another door that had been invisible to Niall before then.

Niall sat there for a while, a stupid grin on his face. “Feckin’ brilliant,” he muttered. Then he picked up the deck of cards, and started playing solitaire. 

…

Meanwhile, the Reapers were sitting in their rooms, and watching the news. 

People died, as they always did. The difference wasn’t visible to most of the human population, but they all knew what was happening. The souls weren’t being taken, which meant they were piling up on Earth. And some of them wouldn’t be happy.

“I feel so guilty,” Liam said, and Zayn put an arm around him.

“It’s for the greater good. We’ll try to round up as many as we can when the strike’s over.” Liam nodded, even though he knew they probably wouldn’t get more than forty percent of the souls. Souls got stubborn and tricky over time. 

Liam rubbed his eyes. He felt another hand on his shoulder, and looked back to see George. “George, are you following this on your laptop? I know you like to keep up with those paranormal blogs.”

“Yeah!” Liam winced-George was damned cheerful for a Reaper. “Most of them haven’t noticed anything, but there’s this one bloke in Scotland who’s swearing up and down that he’s seeing much more paranormal activity than usual.”

“That lad must be a real sensitive then,” someone commented. Liam knew that humans like that existed, but they were rare. He sighed. He had no real need for alcohol, but he’d love a beer right then. Zayn squeezed his shoulder. 

“I hope we get them back,” Zayn said. “I really miss Niall.”

“I know love,” Liam said. “We’ll get them all back, one way or another.” He hoped to hell he was right.

…

Harry was sitting in the corner of his room, with a blanket around him. He had tried everything he could to find a way out, but he couldn’t. He’d taken to curling up in the corner, trying to stay out of Nick’s sightline. He’d always considered Nick a friend when they were alive. He was pretty sure he hated him now.

“How are you doing?” There he was now. Harry poked his head out over the blanket and glared at him. “Now, now, you shouldn’t be acting so childish. I’m only doing this for-‘

“The greater good, yeah. Because me and Louis were such a big problem.” Harry sat up straighter, looking at Nick standing on the other side of the door. 

“It was the example you set that was the problem,” Nick said. “Didn’t some of your friends start with each other? I know that Reapers fuck occasionally, but this was different.” 

“I still say we improved things,” Harry said. “I don’t understand why we have to be punished for eternity for not believing. You’re in the same boat as me, do you think you deserve it?” 

“It doesn’t matter what I think about it darling,” Nick said, and Harry’s skin crawled at the endearment. “This is how it is, and we need to keep it that way. I don’t have a say in how the universe is run-well I kind of do, being an Elder and all. But I have to keep the status quo.”  
“You didn’t care about things like that when I knew you,” Harry said. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at his kidnapper anymore. “You thought we were superior beings, better than all the straight people who hated us. That’s what you said.”

“You seem to have remembered me very well,” Nick said, and something about that made Harry’s instincts stand at attention. Harry opened his eyes back and looked hard at Nick’s face, but he could find nothing there. “I think I need to head back. There’s a bit of a ruckus going on.” 

Then he left without explaining it.

…

Ben liked to think he had a lot of patience. He had to, with the line of work he was in. But he had never seen anything like this. The nerve of that lot, he thought, stopping work just because they wanted their friends back. Now he had to think of something he could do back.

“It’s hard to think of a group punishment,” he said to the others. “Since we need them to get souls, so we can’t lock them all in boxes for eternity. I know, I’m disappointed too,” he said to a glaring Elder. 

“Then what do we do?” Ben sighed as the Elder continued. “We can cut off their precious TV and internet. Why do they have that anyway?”

“So they can better fit in with the humans when they go Up, I’ve told you a million times.,” Ben said. “It comes in handy, so I don’t want to cut it. I’ll have to think of something else.” Then, Ben felt something, a wave of cold that seemed to pass by. “Oh shit. Things just got worse.”

…

Liam was watching the news with a since of guilty dread. When he’d had enough, he closed the tab and turned away, when he felt it-the cold passing by him. He looked up and at first he saw nothing.

“Hi.” Liam found a chubby, red-haired young man standing in front of him, who he was sure he’d never seen before. While being totally ordinary in looks, the bloke also had a cold, strange aura. Liam nodded at him.

“Hi. I’m Liam. Who are you?” The man grinned, showing a mouth full of crumbling teeth, like old…gravestones? 

“I’m Death,” he said, and Liam’s mouth dropped open. He knew who Death was of course, but he rarely showed his face around them. He’d never heard of it, even. “I like your strike. It’s funny.” Death then chuckled, and it sort of sounded like a frog in a well, deep and far away. 

“Oh, good.” Liam said. “It’s making me a nervous wreck.” Now there were sightings on Earth of spirts and strange mists, even from people who were never previously sensitive. There were even reports on the news. Liam hated all the fuss they were causing, but no one was willing to stop.

“I think it’s brilliant. They’re trying to find a way to stop it, you know.” Liam nodded, he did know that. He was amazing they had gotten away with it this long. “What would you say if I joined up with you?” Death grinned again, and Liam could see a trickster’s nature under the gloom. “I haven’t had any fun in ages.” 

Liam didn’t say anything at first. This would get the Elder’s attention, and technically, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Death worked alone, that was part of the gig. But if he actually did go on strike with them…Liam shuddered. The world could be overrun before anyone even knew what was happening. 

After a minute, Liam cleared his throat. “Actually, maybe we can work out something in the middle.” He reached out and shook Death’s hand. It was cold, but Death had a good strong grip. Death’s grin widened, and Liam could see a gap in the front of his crumbling teeth. Liam grinned back. Death was right, this might be fun.

…

“All right, all right, everyone calm down.” Ben said, wiping at his brow with a hankercheif. “Just because Death has visited our realm, doesn’t mean he has anything planned for it.” Ben hoped like hell that was true. “Maybe he was just curious.” 

“The fact they took this far enough to get his attention is bad enough,” one of the Elders said. “I’d put all of them in limbo if I could.” Ben thought about punching him, then willed the thought away. 

“I told you, we can’t get rid of them-“, then he stopped cold as a strange and eerie cold swept over the room again. When Ben looked at the doorway, Death was there.

Death didn’t say anything at first, just stared at all of them. Then he said “Release your prisoners and let the Reapers be. If you don’t, I will join their strike. And if I do that, the world will be choking on an overpopulation of everything from humans to dung beetles. I am not bluffing.” 

Ben looked at Death’s sunny face, and wished he’d just gone to hell. It would have been a lot simpler. 

…

Harry was under the bed, trying to hide from his tormenter, when he heard Nick come into the room for the first time. “Leave me alone,” Harry said, and his voice sounded like he was gargling glass. 

“I’m here to set you free,” Nick said. “Not my idea. I still want to keep you, but apparently your fellow Reapers managed to secure you and the others to go. Personally, I think it’s mad.”

“Wait.” Harry crawled from under the bed and tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head. “All of us? Louis?” He moved so he was sitting on his haunches, a little too close to Nick. “I get him back?”

“You get him back. You get everything you wanted. I no longer have a say in this.” Nick reached out, and brushed a thumb over Harry’s lip. “I remember when you were in that position for me. I always treasured it.”

Harry recoiled, and then got himself up. “That’s disgusting. And you made sure to tell me you weren’t in love with me, so I doubt that was true.” Nick averted his eyes, and Harry frowned. “Nick?” Nick didn’t look at him. Harry sucked in a breath.

“Nick. We were friends once. Tell me the truth. What happened when I died, did you miss me?” Nick turned to them then, and agony was written plain on his face, for anyone to see. 

“I told you not to get into that car, I told you! I had to identify your body that night, and you were a mess! I had to look at you all mangled up. You just had to go out with that lot when I asked you to stay in with me. We always had a good time, didn’t we? But I wasn’t enough that night.” Nick turned away, not facing Harry. 

“I missed you every night after that. I would drink at night, and think about you. I never tried to be with anyone else after that, except going to the docks. I died one night, bottle in my hand. I didn’t even care, when they told me I was dead. I thought ‘oh, I might see Harry again’. You haunted me the rest of my life. I hated you for it.” 

Harry didn’t know what to say. He felt all his words desert him, as Nick laid himself bare, still facing away from him. After a minute, Harry reached out and touched Nick’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said, and Nick wound his fingers around Harry’s.

“It’s my fault, I know,” Nick said. “I pushed you away when you wanted me to kiss you. I couldn’t deal with it. I really believed what I was saying, that we were above things like faithful love. But I knew how I felt, all the same.” Nick turned back to look at him. “You’re beautiful Harry. You always have been. And now I have to let you go again. But at least, you’ll be happy. I suppose it’s something.”

“You could be happy too, if they’ll allow this, they’ll allow you to meet someone,” but already Nick was shaking his head.

“No offense to any of the Elders, but none of them are my type,” Nick said. He reached out and brushed Harry’s curls back. “Please forgive me, if you can,” he said. “They asked me to do it, and I’m ashamed to say that I wanted to. Ben knows about our past, and I was jealous of Louis.”

“I can forgive you. I’m not sure about Lou.” Harry smiled a little for Nick. It was a crooked smile, but one all the same. “Take me to Lou now. I need to see him.” 

“Okay,” Nick said, and he let go of Harry’s hand and strode out of the room. Harry followed, and they went down another long dark hallway. Finally, Nick stopped in front of something Harry couldn’t clearly see, and opened a door.

Louis came tumbling out and ran past Nick, and grabbed Harry in a hug. “How long? How long was I there? I think they had me in a box, Harry. I was in a box.” Louis clung to him and Harry could only hold him tight. 

“It’s all right now,” Harry said, his voice breaking. “Our friends fought for us. We’re going home now.” Louis shook his head, and Harry could feel his anger. “We won. They won’t try to separate us again. Let’s find Niall and go home.” 

Louis dropped his arms and then turned to stare at Nick. Nick stood his ground, not moving as Louis glared at him. Harry held his hand. “He apologized,” Harry said in a whisper. “They asked him to do it.”

“He snuck into my room and spirited me out right under Liam’s nose,” Louis said, still looking at Nick. “I’ll have to ask you about that trick, one day.” Nick nodded, and Louis watched him for a moment, then did the same. “I’m forgiving you,” Louis said, “Just so I don’t have to think about you ever again. Come on Harry, let’s go home.” 

Louis walked in front, and Harry gave Nick a goodbye nod as they headed down toward the main hall. 

“I don’t understand how you forgave him,” Louis said as they walked. Harry had been telling him his side of it, and had an arm around him, helping him balance. “He betrayed you. I wasn’t his friend, so it’s not the same. Where did you say Niall was? This is a long walk.”

“You’ll recover soon,” Harry said. “And I guess it’s because I knew him. But I don’t think I want to see him any time soon. Wait, here’s the hall.” Harry opened the door and saw a room full of grumpy Elders. “Hi,” he said. “Is Niall around?” 

“Yes, he’s waiting for you,” Ben said. “We tried to send him on his way but he wanted to be sure you two were all right. He’s annoyingly loyal.” Harry looked around, trying to find Niall, when he came out of the shadows, with a big grin and holding a deck of cards.

“Hey,” he said, going over to them. “I finally beat these bastards at Texas Hold ‘Em. Can we get back now? I miss the hell out of Zayn.” Harry reached out and hugged Niall, and after a minute, Louis did the same. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” Louis said, and they headed towards the door. Ben was standing near it, and looked peevish.

“I hope you enjoy your temporary victory,” he said. “This could topple the entire system. The hells might not be as bad, the heavens not as good. You’ve introduced a level of human caring into a system meant to be above that. I hope you’re proud of yourselves.”

“We are,” Niall answered. “See you. Maybe I’ll come back and beat you at poker again. But maybe not, you’re a right miserable bastard.” Ben shook his head and opened the door. “Goodbye.” 

…

Liam was worrying over his computer when Zayn elbowed him. “There they are, there they are!” Then he ran towards them and Liam watched as Zayn put his hands on Niall’s face as he kissed him. Next to Niall and Zayn were Harry and Louis, both of them looking worse for wear. The other Reapers saw them come in and they began to cheer. 

Liam waded through the crowd to get to them. “What happened, what did they do to you?” Liam pulled Louis in for a hug. He looked pale, and whatever had happened, he had seemed to have gotten the worst of it.

“We’ll tell you all later,” Harry said. “It was horrible, thanks for standing up for us. We’re just glad to be home.” Harry turned to Louis, and smiled at him. Liam watched as Louis smiled back, a bit forced but still there. 

“It’s good to have you home.” Liam had never thought of the Reaper realm as a home, not until Harry and Louis changed things. “Come on in. We have to start trying to fix things. But you three can take a break.” Liam went back to his desk, and George came over with his laptop. Now they had to get back to work to try to undo some of what they’d done. 

…

Harry and Louis got a day off while Liam ran around like a chicken trying to get enough people to get souls. Liam seemed to think they were rounding up most of them, but Harry didn’t really pay attention. He had his Louis back and that was all he needed really.

“I love you,” Harry said, and Louis giggled. “Hey, we got locked up for each other, I can say it.” 

“I can’t believe we forgave that Nick wanker so easily,” Louis said. “I had every right to punch him, I’m saying.” 

“It wouldn’t have done any good. I think he feels bad about it.” Harry hoped he did, but he wouldn’t say that. “We should go and help out-we’re the reason Liam is having his problem.” 

“Maybe in a bit,” Louis said, curling towards Harry. They kissed, Louis putting a hand in his hair. When they pulled apart, Louis said. “Do you think it’s true? That all of the planes of existence after death are threatened because of us? Or are they just being control freaks?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think they really know either. I mean, now that I know that afterlifes exist, I have to think that something caused them. And if the overall force of the universe isn’t built on love, than what else could it be? I don’t think that love would destroy things, but make them stronger.”

“Hippie,” Louis said fondly. “Who knows?” Louis sat up then, stretching. “Let’s agree to help Liam and go capture some souls. We need a break.” Harry got out of bed, Louis following him. When they left their room, they saw George at Liam’s desk. 

“Hi,” he said. “Liam went out to help, he knows some good techniques for getting older souls to cooperate. Do you want me to send you two on a Reaping? I figured you’d say in as long as you could.”

“We wanted to help,” Harry said. George gave them a place to go, and as they headed towards the elevators, Louis elbowed him. Harry turned around and saw one of the older ex-monks going over to George, a couple of comic books in his hand. Even from where he was Harry could tell George was blushing.

“Huh,” Louis said. “Didn’t think I’d see that. Okay, let’s go do our job.” Louis punched the button on the elevator for Up. Harry squeezed Louis’s hand as they stepped in.


End file.
